


Days Lost to Love

by Enderon



Series: The Children of the Light [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, I've got a bigger story planned for these kids, M/M, Multi, also just to get loving adventures for vox machina and friends, but i couldn't help but write thise first, don't you just love kidfics?, i sure do, mostly to build up emotional investment for them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-09-02 04:32:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8651290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enderon/pseuds/Enderon
Summary: With the Cinder King defeated, so marks the beginning of a new era in Tal'Dorei history. As well, so it marks the beginning of a new era in the lives of the country's greatest heroes.





	1. A New Era's Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: Welp, this was all started and this first chapter posted before the actual fight, so this is now officially a universe alteration/fix it I guess, for some later events that won't happen thanks to the events of this story.

It was the night before their big assault on Thordak that she came to him. 

Scanlan was lying on his bed, flipping through pages of a spell book to find anything that might possibly give him an advantage or just help in anyway. Though he’d never admit it to the others, he was so nervous about the coming morrow, that sleep continued to evade him. It had been that way since they returned from the Fire Plane, that realization that soon they would be up against the greatest foe they’d ever faced and possibly lose their lives plaguing his dreams with nightmares. Despite his exhaustion because of it, he figured it couldn’t hurt to make some use of the extra found time. 

He jumped a little at the sound of a small knock at his doorway, slowly setting his book down before making his way to greet whomever had come to see him. As he opened the door, a warm smile made its way onto his face when he saw who it was. 

“Pikey,” he exclaimed then lowered his voice when he remembered what time it was, “What are you doing here?”

His fellow gnome gave him a warm smile in return, but he could see that there was something more on her mind. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she was wringing them as though nervous, and her eyes seemed to not be entirely focused on him. 

“Hello Scanlan,” she greeted, smiling almost shyly, “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Oh, well, no, you’re fine,” he waved off the very implication that she was a bother to him, “I was just doing some light reading before tomorrow…. Would you, like to come in?” He stepped back a bit and gestured for her to enter the room. 

“Oh yes, thank you.” As she walked into the warm and sweet smelling room, she suddenly turned on him as he closed the door behind her, “Sleep with me.”

“W-what?” Scanlan squeaked, a bit caught off guard by the sudden demand.

“Sleep with me,” Pike said again, looking only slightly more sure of herself, “Right now, sleep with me… That is if you still want to.”

“Well, I mean, of course I-but, I mean, Pike,” he calmed himself down by shutting his eyes, before opening them again and resting his hands on her shoulders, keeping her at a distance, “What brought this on so suddenly?”

“Scanlan, we might die tomorrow,” she looked down, chewing at her lip, “And if I’m to die tomorrow, I want to die knowing what it’s like.”

“But-but what about that other person you love? Wouldn’t now be the time to go to them? Not that I’m saying no or anything.”

“Well,” she looked up at him, and Scanlan’s heart broke at the sad look in those beautiful blue eyes, “I’m afraid I was a bit too late with my own confession.” 

At that comment, the older gnome remembered the heirloom Pike had given Percy, the same necklace that had almost saved his life. And, going even further, he could remember the way she looked as Vex proclaimed her love to bring him back. Something he should have seen much earlier, suddenly made sense to him. 

Taking a deep breath, he looked into her eyes. 

“Are you sure about this?” He asked, as serious as he’d ever been in his life, “Do you really want to do this?” 

She nodded, looking even more sure of herself than before. Beneath the sadness, Scanlan could see the determination in her eyes, twinkling in those depths. His heart dropped a little at the thought that she saw this as more of a challenge than something she genuinely wanted to do for herself. 

But there was no way he could possibly deny her, especially in this. 

 

 

The morning came, and everyone gathered at the Ziggurat to go over any last minute plans before launching their attack. As they talked and planned, the twins each noticed that the gnomes were both acting a little bit off. They were stood as far away from each other as possible, and whenever they happened to look at each other, they would both look away with bright red faces. 

As soon as the talk was done, they were given a short time frame to make any last preparations before they left, and Vax immediately sought out Scanlan. 

“So,” Vax asked, making the bard jump in surprise as he snuck up on him, “What’s up wiht you and Pickle, huh?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The gnome’s voice was smooth and his usual smirk seemed pretty natural on his face, but the bright red tinge of his cheeks betrayed him. 

“But of course you do, you two were avoiding each other, and you both seemed pretty embarrassed when looking at each other,” the half-elf kneeled down and tugged at one of Scanlan’s ears, earning him a very weak whack on the side of the head, “So spill it Shorty. What’s up?”

“Alright, alright, you well intended menace,” Scanlan looked around to make sure no one was nearby, before leaning in close to whisper, “Don’t tell anyone, but Pike and I slept together last night.”

“Wha-That’s great,” Vax blinked a few times, tilting his head to the side, “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“Yes, no, I don’t know!” Scanlan sighed and leaned against the rogue, looking bothered, “I thought I did, but, well, it wasn’t really what I expected.”

“You love her, right?”

“Of course, more than anything. That’s, probably the thing I’m most sure of.”

“What IS sex to you?”

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Scanlan pulled back and gave Vax a very hard look, “Sex is sex, what are you asking here?”

“Maybe, have you considered, that it wasn’t like what you thought, because sex doesn’t mean much to you?” At the gnome’s continued look of confusion, Vax tried again, “Like, you’ve slept with so many people, and it’s such a common thing to you, that it doesn’t have much meaning to it anymore. Not in the way you were expecting anyways.”

Looking up, the bard seemed to think about it for a few moments, before nodding and looking back down at the half-elf.

“So what are you suggesting?” He asked, still looking a little bit confused. 

“Maybe your love for Pike goes beyond anything physical. It’s more, emotional if you will.” 

Scanlan looked surprised at the suggestion, as though he’d never even considered it. But after thinking for a few more moments, a bright smile spread on his face.

“You know, I think you might be onto something.” 

“I’m glad,” giving the gnome a mischievous look, he pulled him in and gave him a kiss, “By the way, I refuse to be one upped by a half-elf I’ve never even met.”

“Well, you’re going to have to try harder than that.” Scanlan's look was also rather mischievous, but he patted the half-elf on the shoulder and gestured for him to leave, “You should probably go talk to your sister or your lady friend before we have to. Make sure everything is cleared up.”

“Yeah.” Vax stood up to disappear into the shadows once more. 

“And Vax?”

“Yeah?”

“....Thanks.”

“No problem Shorty.”

 

 

They did it. They had really and truly done it. 

Vox Machina, despite each of their varying degrees of burns and general injuries, all started laughing as the realization came to them. 

“I can’t fucking believe,” Vex squealed, wrapping Scanlan up in a giggly mess of a hug, “That you just shamed the Cinder King to death.”

“I know.” Scanlan said, his own voice bordering on hysterical as he tried to recover from that brief moment of his life flashing before his eyes. Everyone else was laughing, but he found it hard to breathe as he thought of why he’d done it. 

He’d been out of any other spells, and he’d already used Mythcarver’s special ability once in the battle, and that big, hulking, fuck-off dragon had been towering over a stunned Pike. 

He looked over at the cleric as she ran, laughing, into Grog’s arms, being thrown up in air with yells of delight and victory. 

He had very nearly lost her again, ad the idea terrified him even now. 

“Hey, you okay Scanlan?” He was shaken from his thoughts by Vex’s concerned question, taking in the worried look she was giving him, “You look a little beat up.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t look much better.” Which was true on both ends. Vex was better off since she’d stayed farther away with Fenthras, really only having gotten some minor burns from Thordak’s flames and few scrapes and bruises from when she’d fallen off of her broom. But she definitely looked better than Scnalan. The gnome had several deep gashes from a varying array of teeth or claws, mostly seeming to have been caught around the shoulders. As well, a good portion of his back had been singed, along with the ponytail he’d worn his hair in for years. Thinking on it, he realized he’d probably have to cut it all off. 

“Here,” he felt the smooth warmth of a simple healing spell wash over him, and felt a few of the cuts on his shoulders close up, though they still ached horribly, “Is that better.”

“A little bit,” he grinned at her, “Thanks.”

“Anything for the big hero of the day.” She laughed, standing up.

“Yes, I am the big hero, aren’t I?” He joked, earning another laugh for his efforts. Pleased, he picked himself up from where he’d fallen to his knees at the dragons’ final breath, and followed the ranger over to where the rest of their party was gathering. 

As she noticed him, Pike dropped from Grog’s shoulders and ran over to him, pulling him into a spine crushing hug. It hurt, a lot, but Scanlan still smiled and tried to hug her back. 

“You saved my life,” she whispered to him as he felt one of her own healing spells flow through him, healing up the rest of his wounds, though the ache still remained, “Thank you so much.”

“Anything for you Pikeypants.” And he really meant it, both forgetting the awkwardness of the morning. 

“Hey Vax,” Scanlan yelled at the half-elf once Pike had let him go, “Wanna help me out with this later?” He gestured to the charred remains of his ponytail, “You’re always helping your sister with her hair.”

“Sure Scanman, no problem.” The rogue replied, but he seemed a bit preoccupied as he went back to kissing and hugging Keyleth. 

“I’ve never even imagined you with short hair,” Pike said as the two gnomes walked over to where Grog was, “Think you’ll keep it?”

“We’ll see,” Scanlan shrugged before giving the Goliath a light high five, “this is the start of a new era of Tal’Dorei history. Seems as good a time as ever for a change.”


	2. A life to be

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!!”

Pike watched as Keyleth pounded her head into the war table, poor Vax trying to get her to stop. Her own heart bled for the druid, wanting desperately to help, but knowing that, at the moment, there was little she could do. 

“It’s not your fault Keyleth,” Percy assured, his voice taking on that tone that he only ever used when talking to her, “We all saw this coming, and we all forgot to watch her.”

“But I should have known,” Keyleth finally stopped pounding her head, allowing Vax to wrap her in a one-armed hug, “I should have kept an eye on her. Now Raishan is Gods know where and she has Thordak’s corpse. Who knows where she could be?!”

“I promise you Keyleth, we will find her,” reaching out and grasping the druid’s hands between her own, Allura fixed her with an intense look, “You and I, together, will find Raishan, and we will stop her from doing whatever she has planned.” Her voice was determined, but held the usual gentleness that was common in the enchantress. 

Finally, Keyleth gave her a small smile and a nod. 

Seeing Keyleth’s rising distress start to depress, Pike’s own concern waned. 

Things were going to be okay. Certainly not perfect with a malicious, clever, revenge fueled ancient green dragon flying around somewhere with the corpse of her mad king, but it would be as okay as okay could get with this group. 

Feeling something to her side, Pike glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Scanlan giving her a strange look, though it quickly switched to a lecherous eyebrow wiggle when she turned to look at him head on. It was a bit weird to look at him now, missing his usual poof of a ponytail in the back, cut clean off after being singed in the battle with Throdak. He’d gone even further and had Vax sheer the top as well, matching it all to a very short, very clean looking cut that was far more suited to a military man than to Scanlan Shorthalt, bard extraordinair. But, while it was an odd thing to see that would take some getting used to, Pike rather liked the look. 

“I think you look more mature,” she decided to voice a bit of her thoughts, “With the hair.”

“I do, don’t I?” Scanlan smirked and ran a hand over it, “I’ll admit, it still feels really weird. It’s been long for as long as I can remember, and it feels wrong not to feel it on my neck or back anymore.”

“Like a phantom pain?”

“Sort of, I guess?” He reached a hand up to rub at his chin, waggling his eyebrows at her once again, “Think I should grow a beard to match this ‘mature’ look?”

Pike put a hand to her own chin and screwed her face up in a look of thought, genuinely contemplating it for a few moments, before giving a brisk nod. 

“I think, personally,” and she reached out to tap him on the nose, “That it would suit you Mr.Shorthalt.”

 

Within the next week, things got a little bit weird for Vox Machina. 

Weird in that they all found themselves separated by virtue of their duty to the war torn land and the efforts to bring it back to it’s former glory. 

The twins, rather reluctantly, decided to accompany their father back to Syngorn and help see to matters there; help to make sure all of the soldiers were returned, talk about Syngorn’s potential aid in the reconstruction efforts, visit their little sister. Percival, rather obviously, stayed put in Whitestone, taking some of the load off of Cassandra’s back and making an attempt to put himself into the swing of politics. Despite all of his noble attitude and boasting of superior knowledge, he’d never really had much practice in the actual ruling of a city and floundered just a bit in it. 

Keyleth and Allura, as promised, worked day in and day out trying to locate Raishan in some way. They went without sleep some days, staying up all night to pour over books and tomes and their combined knowledge of such things as scrying and location spells; anything to give them a lead. They took only small breaks from their work; Keyleth a quick visit to make sure her people all got home safe and sound and that things could wait for her for a little bit, and Allura to make sure things were going well in the reconstruction of Emon. 

And so that left the goliath and the two gnomes, who would be stuck just standing around and twiddling their thumbs if Pike didn’t have the great idea of going back to emon and helping out their in the reconstruction. She could help heal the many sick and wounded from the overall war and the final battle, Grog could help with the rebuilding and removing of rubble and waste strewn all throughout the city, and Scanlan could help ease tension with his songs and jokes and bring some smiles to the darker parts of the ruined city. 

So, a week later found the three of them in Greyskull Keep, piled together in the large, main room. It was a big keep, and after so long in close quarters to each other, none of them had been all that fond of sleeping halfway across the keep from one another and had decided to pile a bunch of blankets and pillows together in front of the fireplace, so that when the day was done and they were too tired to carry themselves anymore they could just plop down right there. 

Pike had been enjoying a very nice dream, playing with a happy and giggling gnomish child, when she was rudely awoken by a sudden and intense need to empty all of the previous night’s dinner. 

Yanking herself to her feet, she raced outside to keel over right next to a bush. It seemed an endless supply of remains that came out of her, her stomach churning out more and more until it felt like she was throwing up the very acid of her stomach. Which was likely. When, finally, there was nothing left to give, she stayed curled over, gagging and breathing hard as she tried to see if it was really over and she could risk getting to her feet. 

“Pike?” She heard Grog call out, groaning weakly to try and get his attention. A moment later she was aware of a looming presence beside her, as well as a much smaller presence kneeling at her side. 

“You okay there Pikey?” Scanlan asked, reaching out to brush her sweat soaked hair from her face. 

“Just peachy.” She croaked in reply, flashing him a weak attempt at a toothy grin. 

“Yeah, and the greenish yellow puddle and your atrocious morning breath really help your case.” Scanlan’s tone was soft and soothing despite his teasing words, and his hand felt so nice in Pike’s hair. She closed her eyes. 

“A little hand here big guy?” 

Next thing Pike knew, she was picked up into a familiar, large armed, warm embrace, and was being slowly and carefully carried back inside. 

“Thank you Grog.” She smiled tiredly and gave him a gentle pat on the arm as he set her down, as gently as he could, into their blanket pile. She snuggled back in and curled on to her side, not even wanting to make that fight to go out and about, especially when she didn’t want to give whatever she was coming down with to any of her patients. 

Things got pretty quiet for a while until the loud thumping of Grog’s footfalls walked past, heading in the direction of the front door. Then there was a light tinkling sound of a glass being set on the stone next to her. 

“Get some rest, we’ll be back later.” Scanlan assured her, smoothing back her hair another time before the air filled with the light tapping of his hurrying steps. 

Pike burrowed her face further into the blankets and smiled. 

When she woke up sometime later, all ill feeling had vanished and she felt the need to get up and do something. So she did, though not before downing the now cold mug of tea that Scanlan had so kindly left her. Walking through the keep, she realized just how little they had all used the place since its construction. Things had happened so quickly between that expedition to Kraghammer and the attack of the dragons, that they never really found much need for the place if only for a select few times. Thinking on this, she felt a bit sad as she walked from room to room, running her hand along the stone wall as she walked down the hall. 

The place was, to be quite blunt, useless. 

Which gave Pike an idea. 

Only an hour or two later, both Grog and Scanlan returned. They usually all met up for lunch around midday, and the two seemed eager to check up on Pike, clearly surprised to find her up and about and energetic. 

“I’ve got a great idea!” She said as soon as they walked in the front gate, hardly able to keep the excitement from her voice, “Vox Machina has hardly ever used this place in the past and probably won’t be using it much in the near future because everyone has things they have to do away from Emon, so what if we used it as a homeless shelter?”

Scanlan and Grog blinked. 

“A what?” Grog asked finally, having processed the words but not really understanding their point. 

“A homeless shelter, somewhere for all the people in Emon who lost their homes in the war to live until their homes have been rebuilt.” 

“You know, that’s not a bad idea Pike,” Scanlan enthused, putting a hand to his chin and smiling to himself, “In my, personal, opinion, I’d even say it’s a great idea.”

And so the rest of the day was spent making preparations; going through belongings in the keep, cleaning things out, and talking to the proper authorities to get it all worked out and the news spread. They had agreed that the new homing would start the next day, and so all three of them plopped down for the night with a feeling of satisfaction for what was being done. 

The next morning, Pike was once again awakened from a pleasant dream by nausea. When Grog and Scnalan came out to find her, she found that Scanlan had a strangely thoughtful look on his face. 

“Are you sure you’re alright Pike?” Grog insisted again even though it had been an hour and she was now feeling just fine and had continued to tell them that every time he asked. 

Scanlan hadn’t said all that much in that time, and his thoughtful look had progressively turned almost troubled. 

Pike didn’t like it. 

But before she could voice her thoughts, the three of them were startled to attention by the sound of approaching footsteps form within the keep. Only to relax a moment later when the source revealed itself to be a hurried Keyleth. 

“Hey guys,” She greeted, slightly out of breath by her little run, “How have you guys been?”

“We’ve been good, but what are you doing here Keyleth?” Pike asked, “Aren’t you and Allura working to find Raishan?”

“Oh, yeah, we are, that’s still happening,” she then turned to Scanlan with a built of a regretful look on her face, “It’s just that someone showed up in Whitestone this morning.”

 

“Not a peep! Not one little peep you lousy sod you! How was I supposed to know you were even fuckin alive!?” The bold and brash Scanlan Shorthalt seemed to shrink and cower in the face of his daughter’s fuming rage. 

Pike watched from nearby with a fond smile and a little shake of her head. She felt a little bad, but this was Scanlan’s pot to stew in, he could handle it himself. 

Meanwhile, her attention was diverted as a familiar figure approached her from the castle. 

“Hi Percy.” She greeted sweetly, giving him a little friendly wave and feeling that familiar little flip her stomach always made when the young lord appeared. She internally berated herself for the feeling. 

“Good day Pike, I’m glad to see you’re well,” he smiled warmly at her, but in that cool manner he always seemed to possess, before turning his attention to the two gnomes a few feet away, “Things are going well here I see.”

“Oh yes, quite well,” Pike agreed, holding back a laugh as Scanlan tried to reply to another of Kaylie’s angered comments, only for a timid squeak to come out, “Do you think we should save him?”

“I’d much rather catch up with you right now if you don’t mind,” Percy admitted, a slight glint of mischief in his eye when he turned back to look at her, tough his tone was completely sincere, “How have things been in Emon.”

“Oh, you know, a mess. But it’s getting there,” Pike rubbed an armored hand to the back of her head, “We’ve kept ourselves pretty busy. And here?” 

“Welll,” Percy’s voice trailed off and a slightly embarrassed look came over his face, “It’s been a bit tricky getting into it, but slowly and surely I think I’m getting the hang of things.”

“That’s good to know.” Pike smiled, and allowed herself the small divergence of a warm feeling at his happiness. 

“And, I discovered something exciting the other day.” Kneeling in front of her, he tipped his head forward so that she could see the hair on top of his head clearly. What she saw had a smile tear across her face. 

“It’s turning brown again!” She exclaimed in delight, grabbing the sides of his head to push it down a little bit so that she could get a better look at the much darker, brown strands near the back. “That’s wonderful Percy.”

“That it is, that it is.” And in that moment, Percival sounded far happier than Pike had ever heard him before. 

 

“Are things okay between the two of you?” Pike asked, catching Scanlan in one of the halls of Whitestone castle later that night with a troubled look on his face, “Between you and Kaylie?”

“Things are fine,” he insisted, smiling in the fond way he got when talking about his daughter, “She was mad that I told her to find us here and wasn’t here when she showed up and got a bit heated, but things are fine.”

“Then why do you look so mopey?” Pike laughed and gave him a little nudge in the side. 

That seemed to have the opposite effect, dropping the smile right off of his face. 

“Pike, I may be jumping to conclusions really fast right now-” he stopped himself, seemed to mull his words over a few moments, before continuing, “Do you think we could go see Allura and see if she could tell us something?”

“Uh, sure.” Pike was a bit surprised by the request but figured it couldn’t hurt, following quickly as they made their way to the library, where Allura and Keyleth had set up camp. 

“Pike, Scanlan, what a surprise,” Allura greeted, smiling kindly at the both of them, “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I don’t know, you’re going to have to ask him.” Pike gestured over to Scanlan at her right with her thumb, rather interested to see what it was that had had him so bothered all day. 

“Allura, are there any sort of spells you have that could, I don’t know, detect life?” He asked, still looking bothered and just a little bit confused. 

“Um, yes, there are one or two that I am capable of,” Allura blinked owlishly at the bard, “But, why exactly do you ask?”

“Could you try one of them on Pike?”

At that, Pike turned to look at him, furrowing her brow in confusion. 

What was he on about?

Allura still seemed rather unsure, but move her hands towards Pike, giving her a questioning look and beginning to say something under her breath after receiving a nod. Her hands began to glow a soft, blue light, before fading and her eyes widened a bit. 

“Well, I guess some congratulations are in order,” she said, continuing to blink in surprise, “It looks like you’re going to be a mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have this guy feeling that the gestation period for gnomes of far shorter than for humans.
> 
> Here's a life lesson friends, don't have sex before potentially dying, because if you don't dye thank you might find yourself with some consequences. 
> 
> On another note, Pike and Scanlan's dynamic is really fun to write. I love it.


End file.
